National Pension Service Sells 325,030 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

National Pension Service lessened its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 327,472 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 325,030 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.14% of Nucor worth $38,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $137.52 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.